Nautical DUI Emphasis Patrol
 

This article in our local news kind of caught my eye and got me to thinking (I know, I know - never a good thing...):

https://komonews.com/news/local/police-targeting-dui-boaters-this-weekend-in-operation-dry-water

Not being a boat owner (other than my 18' canoe), I guess this has never crossed my mind. Just how would they "pull over" a boat? And under what pretext (probable cause)? With no speed limits on most waterways, with most ski boats and the like "weaving" as a normal mode of operation, just what do the authorities look for, and what justification can they use to initiate contact? Don't they need "permission to come aboard" or, if not given, an actual warrant to board another vessel? Can they demand someone leave their own vessel if not under arrest? I have all kinds of concerns about just how this would be carried out. Any insights?

Coast Guard can do "safely " inspection, check your life Preservers, ect.

True. I had not thought about that. Do they have absolute authority to board any vessel then? Or can you produce the life vests and fire extinguishers for inspection without allowing them on board?

BUI is a big deal here. I was toying with starting a company / service to can radio / call / text that will run a licensed sober boat operator to you and bring you back to your mooring or boat ramp.

Many go to sandbars here and spend the day drinking beer. Many get popped pulling into he boat ramp or between the sandbars and boatramps.

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A quick google search found some articles that said that the Coast Guard can enter your boat at any time for any reason if it is in US waters. The 4th amendment does not apply to boats.

Boating apparently falls under some ancient laws; Revenue Service act of 1790 was in the article.

All that and more. Don't drink and boat. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is very strong here in Maryland and aligned under the Department of HLS.

Have a designated driver or it will be a long day. They get to pick and choose, you don't.

We live on a DNR lake. They often pull people over to check for life jackets, DL, fire extinguishers, etc. Also if you go under an overpass too fast (wake). And of course, they’ll grab anyone obviously doing stupid shlt.

Thanks guys. I find this all very interesting. I just wonder how the authorities have continued to operate in this manner in this day and age. To my admittedly less than knowledgable self, this strikes me very much as the Constitutional and moral equivalent of being pulled over in your car any time the authorities damn well please, under the auspices of a "safety check".

I wonder how the two have grown so far apart. Seems to me that the greater "danger" lies in the operation of our land going vehicles, at least as far as the danger they present to others. Yet we enjoy the absolute right to travel unimpeded in those, with some sort of probable cause being required before we can be stopped. No stopping just to check. Interesting that that seems to be a given in the nautical world, and even more interesting that it appears to be accepted. Why the difference?

Here in the oppressive state of NY.. they associate any boating BUI infractions with your licence to drive an automobile... In NY you do not need a licence from the State to operate a boat. I think at minimum a "boating safety course" is recommended, but not required...

Get a BUI, expect the driving privileges for your car to be suspended..

I grew up on/in the water..My father had a bristol condition/equipped Crisovich... The boat was a sport fishing weapon... Tuna, Marlin, Shark..all teak deck, Stitt chair?

Once we came back from a overnight trip,and the coasties flagged us down... I remember them asking to board and my dad refused.. They then asked my dad a series of questions... how many life preservers, so my dad showed them.. fire extinguisher.. showed them... etc... down the list..I remember some of the crew on the the Coast Guard vessel giving each other side eye...

Just looking at my dads boat you could tell it was fitted out to the max...

40 years or so ago...


Doubt you could do that today..

WAAAAAAYYYY back in college, a friend had a boat. We were on the NC sound in the outer banks where the sound met the ocean.

This is a weird area of water- where small inland waves from the protected sound intermix with real ocean waves/ torrent. Our boat was no match, so we turned back towards the sound.

AS we got turned around, we got "pulled over" for a coast guard check. I will never forget the young female coast guard intern in her polyester dickie pants attempting to board. With one leg on our boat/the other leg on the patrol boat/the boats hitting/pulling apart in the surf, and she fell right in.

At that point, everyone needed to get her out of the water before the boats re-collided smushing her between them. I swear the coast guard captain reached into the water and raised her out with one hand. We all went to help. Let's just say, there "might" have been some alcohol on our boat, but it all got overlooked after that.

She was okay, we had our life vest, got a "warning" and everyone went on their merry way.

they just slide up next to you and grab hold of the gunnel or motor next to you if current requires. every experience we've had with them has been positive.

My thought is that when this Country was founded, ships and then railroads were desperately needed to build and supply everything, so therefore strict rules and rights were applied and they just sort of stayed that way. Cars are relatively new and were thought of differently.

This. Maryland DNR and CG Aux have NO sense of humor. For good reason. Its not uncommon for the helmsman of most pleasure boats to have cocktails at the helm, and its more dangerous than a drink in the console.

Thanks again, guys. This is one of the things I love about hanging with you folks - beyond the banter, we always have folks who know. What a resource.

To expand this just a wee bit further, here in Washington, we can get a DUI on a bicycle. On a lawnmower. I could probably get one in my canoe. I'm sure we have discussed this before, so all I will reiterate is just how absurd this has gotten.

Even in the context of this discussion, why on earth would we allow a BUI to have equivalency to a DUI, and therefor affect one's driver's license? I cannot believe this has not been challenged. Or let me rephrase that - I'm sure it has been challenged, but I cannot believe it's been allowed to stand. Next thing you know, we will be subject to a "PUI" if we are enjoying a beer while up on a ladder painting the house... And it will affect our driver's licenses...

Neighbor got a DUI for "Golf Carting under influence." This was in 1985.

Not a judgment call. Just a datapoint.

No DUI worries, but reminded me years ago when a water deputy checked out my boat in the parking lot...he with ticket book in hand. All was kosher with license, life preservers, etc. Then he started asking:'

"Coast guard approved fuel can?"

"No."

"Spark arrestor muffler?"

"Uh no, never saw the need to have either one."

He began writing...finally noticed the mast of my 15' Chrysler Mutineer, and blurted;
"Why..you don't have a motor!"

"Exactly."

They do this every single day to truckers. And the list of infractions they can get you on fit in multiple 3-ring binders. If they want to stick it to you they will find a way to do it. Pay your fine and you're off to the next state where they do it all over again. It's more for lining the coffers than 'safety' but I digress...

The police patrol the lakes in cottage country up here. They're looking for life vests and other safety equipment. If you're impaired and get charged you lose your drivers license on the spot for 90 days. If convicted the suspension is a year. This applies to ALL watercraft including canoes.
In the winter snowmobiles fall under the same rules.

It’s a pretty big deal around here on our inland lakes, especially the major ones. We have a minimum list of safety equipment required and they can legally inspect any boat for said safety equipment. Putting aside the concerns about the legality of said laws this very rarely happens, my only encounter with lake law enforcement is when I didn’t realize that a no wake zone was in effect on weekends only and was quickly pulled over as a warning. Most enforcement is by either park rangers or state troopers depending on the lake. In practice they frequently will be sitting in coves watching boaters with binoculars and will pull over boats where they can observed the driver either drinking blatantly or acting erratically. So in practice if you aren’t an idiot it will be ok.

Here in Florida we have many "no wake" zones as well as Manatees and Dolphins who could get hurt should a boater exceed the posted speed limits, so I'm glad there is law enforcement to help protect our natural resources.

There are also plenty of areas where boats can open things up if they wish to do so.

There's also no shortage of drunks who own boats here, thus the never ending opportunities for our maritime laws to be enforced.

And it's not just the Coast Guard. Its the Sheriff's Dept., Marine Patrol, FWC, plus FDNR.

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